Caustic soda known as lye is used in soap making. It is an alkaline acid-base that rapidly reaches near-boiling temperatures once it is mixed with liquids like water. The lye solution then becomes a “lye solution.” This is what is known as saponification.
Inhaled lye can cause severe allergic reactions and sting to the eyes. When lye is a new concept, it can be very scary to work in. This is why melt & pour soap is so much fun to work with.
Melt and pour soap is made with lye, but it’s used for the saponification process. Just like in all soap-making, it also gets used up in the saponification process. It is safer to handle melt and pour soap bases than to use a bar at the sink. The lye is gone.
Things can become a little complicated when people get caught up in technicalities.
Melt and Pour soap is free from lye. However, it can be made using lye. The soap-making process is what uses most of the lye.
Make Beautiful Soap In Minutes
Melt and Pour soap is just what its name indicates. It’s made by melting the soap down to a liquid, then pouring it into the mold of your choosing. This is just the beginning. Now comes the best part.
Add colors, essential oils, perfumes, fragrances, and exfoliates to any of these products.
Soap Colorants
They are available in powder and liquid forms, as well as natural and artificial. Mixing colors can create any shade you desire, regardless of whether the soap is made with an opaque or clear base. You can create a stunning look by adding shimmering mica powder into a transparent MP base.
Essential Oils
Aromatherapists and herbalists use essential oils in their daily work. Essential oils were popularized by the more health-conscious population in the early 2000s. You don’t have to limit yourself to specialty shops; essential oils of almost every type are available in Wholefoods markets as well as all over the Internet.
Clays
Natural clays can be used to exfoliate, thicken, or enhance soap color. Clays like Rose clay, Bentonite, Kaolin, and Bentonite are often used in beauty masks. They can be very beneficial for the skin, provided they are properly used.
Fragrances
A fragrance can be any soap ingredient that is intended to enhance the smell of soap. These can include essential oils, natural oil extracts, and artificial perfumes. Be sure to check the flash temperature of any fragrance before adding it. This is the temperature at whose effect the scent will be.
Exfoliates
Anything you want to exfoliate the skin can be used. Try different soap ingredients in different amounts to make your soap truly unique. Here are some of our favorite glycerin soap recipes (a.k.a. ‘soapers’).
- Clays
- Baking soda
- Shredded luffa
- Sand (usually very coarse)
- Coffee grounds
- Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
- Ground oats, also known as oatmeal
- Ground pumice, also known as powdered pumice
Embeds
An ’embed’ is anything that you would like to place inside your soap. Clear soap bases are popular for embedding figurines made of opaque MP soap or simply curls or chips. As a way of getting children to love soap, people often embed small plastic toys in their clear or opaque bases.
Botanicals
Botanicals may be any kind of petal or bud. The most popular use for dried lavender is as a topper and natural scent. It is crucial to ensure that your botanicals are dry to prevent their rotting. You can do this by gently pressing them into the soap. You want them to stay in the soap without slipping when you touch them.
